The Houthi rebels have again attacked a US freighter. The militia spoke of retaliation for the bombings by the USA and Great Britain. US President Biden announced further attacks.
The Houthi militia in Yemen say they have attacked a US merchant ship again. The Iranian-backed rebels said that night they had attacked the ship “Chem Ranger” in a “targeted operation” in the Gulf of Aden off the Yemeni coast. Several rockets hit their target.
In a statement, the Houthis said retaliation for the British and US attacks was inevitable and any new aggression would not go unpunished.
Drones apparently just hit the water
According to the USA, the US freighter was not damaged in the attack and there were no injuries. A US Central Command post on Platform X indicated that two missiles were fired at the tanker. However, these would only have hit the water. “The ship continued its journey,” it said.
According to the information, the tanker sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, is owned by a US shipping company and is operated by a Greek company. According to the specialized website Marine Traffic, it was a chemical tanker that was en route from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.
Meanwhile, the security company Ambrey said, presumably about the same incident, that drones in the region had approached an unnamed chemical tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag. One of the drones hit the water around 30 meters from the ship. There were no injuries or damage and an Indian warship attended the incident. The British Maritime Security Authority (UKMTO) made similar statements.
Biden: Attacks will continue
The Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, particularly since the beginning of the war between Israel and the militant Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. The Shiite militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel, which includes Hamas and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The US and Britain bombed Houthi positions in Yemen a week ago in response to the attacks. The US has carried out four more attacks since then, the most recent on Thursday. According to President Biden, the USA wants to continue attacking militia positions. “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Will they move forward? Yes,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question.
The shipping route from the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean is an extremely important route for world trade and leads directly past Yemen. According to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), twelve percent of world trade passes through the Red Sea.